EU cancels Congo election observation mission

The European Union has decided to cancel its election observation mission for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s upcoming general elections, scheduled for December 20th. The reason given for this cancellation is that the EU would not be able to deploy its personnel across the country due to security concerns. On Wednesday, the EU released a statement explaining the situation, stating, “Due to technical constraints beyond the control of the EU, we are forced to cancel the EU election observation mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).” The mission had planned to send long-term observers to most provinces of the DRC but is no longer able to do so.

Nabila Massrali, a spokesperson for the EU, informed Reuters that election observers were already in Kinshasa and were scheduled to be deployed across the country on November 21st but were unable to do so due to security reasons.

As the nation prepares for the presidential, legislative, and regional elections, tensions continue to rise. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa’s second-largest country, is also grappling with numerous armed groups in its resource-rich eastern region. Tragically, on Tuesday, a youth activist lost their life as a result of stones being thrown during an opposition campaign rally in the city of Kindu.

Several opposition candidates have expressed concerns about the integrity of the upcoming vote, alleging irregularities that benefit the ruling coalition during the voter registration process. However, these claims have been denied by the electoral commission. The DRC’s electoral commission and authorities did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

According to a European diplomat who wished to remain anonymous, “When the long-distance observers were due to be deployed, the authorities began to raise a whole series of problems relating to the use of satellite equipment and to impose other conditions that did not allow the observers to work in a secure and independent manner outside Kinshasa.” The EU has stated that it is exploring other possibilities with the Congolese authorities, including the potential of maintaining a mission of electoral experts to observe the electoral process from the capital.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Sonia Rolley; Additional reporting by Ange Kasongo; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Sharon Singleton)